Short Sales In Today's Market !

The market has picked up and more buyers are out looking for homes, my job is to help guide those buyers and homeowners who are selling their homes ! I want to touch base and give everyone a quick refresher on what a short sale is and what the process actually is, there are still quite a few leftover on the market and new ones coming onto the market.

What Kind Of Short Sales Are There On The Market ? 

• Approved Short Sales:  This is where the bank has already set a price that they are willing to take for the home.  These kinds tend to move a bit quicker since the "negotiations" have already taken place, unless you plan on submitting an offer below asking price.  These can usually close within 90 - 120 days after going to contract.  

• Un-Approved Short Sales: This is the less predictable short sale because not only has the bank not agreed to a price but more than likely the homeowners are still in the process of submitting all of their paperwork as well.  Normally in order to submit your offer to the bank you will need to provide them with contracts, which means you will need to use your down payment to get into contract.  

What Is The Process Of Purchasing A Short Sale ? 

1. Meeting with your buyers broker, deciding on your offering price based on the actual market value of the home.  Take the time to review how long it has been on the market, and for your own knowledge what the Lis Pendens is on the home.  
2. Presenting the offer to the homeowners, ideally they will accept the offer or counter.  You can sometimes ask the homeowners to do fixes or repairs as well, but your agent will advise you to if this will help or hurt your chances.  
3. Once you have an accepted offer from the homeowner, you will than go into contract on the home.  Your offer will now be submitted to the bank for their approval this is where the timeline becomes less predictable.  
4. The bank will send out their own appraiser to perform a BPO of the property.  This is where they  will go look at the condition of the home, and of the surrounding comparable homes.  This is why basing your offer on the current market value is key, if they see your offer is considerably less than it chances are they will not accept.  Remember the bank does not necessarily have to counter your offer they can simply reject and you will need to re-start the process to change your offer.  
5. Hopefully you will have gotten your offer accepted or successfully negotiated with counters to get the home for the price your comfortable with.  Your mortgage broker should have began your process of you obtaining your commitment so that all the attorneys can schedule the closing and get all of the necessary paperwork from the homeowners for their short sale to be complete for you to be able to close ! 

Truths & Myths Of Short Sales 

• Myth: The homeowners have defaulted on the house and have not paid there mortgage.
• Myth: Anyone can short sale their home if they owe more than it is worth.    
• Truth: The homeowners must have suffered some circumstance for no longer being able to afford their home, and are unable to make other arrangements with the bank.  

• Myth: You can offer the bank whatever you want, they would rather sell it than hold onto it! 
• Truth: The home may not be worth what the remaining mortgage is on the home, but on average the bank wants 96% of the market value of the home regardless of what they are owed. 

• Myth: You can use any company to list your homes as a short sale! 
• Truth: You can, but your home will not sell.  You need to hire an agent and company that has worked on and with banks on short sales in your area.  Only a knowledgeable agent will be able to properly handle a short sale, the reason their is a higher commission rate is because of the extensive additional work we must do.  

• Myth: Whatever is left in the home the bank will come and clean out before your closing.
• Truth: What you see is what you get, literally this unfortunately includes whatever leftover debris is left by the previous owners.  In the case where the homeowners are still in possession they will almost always take their belongings and properly dispose of what they are not taking with them. 

Deciding Whether To Buy Or Rent, What You Need To Know !

It's that time of year again where we see renters deciding whether or not they will continue renting, or will consider being a new homeowner ! This blog is to help all those considering purchasing answer that most common question "Should I Buy Or Should I Rent?" 

Why Should I Buy A Home Instead Of Rent ? 

It's a fact that in most markets, buying a home is significantly cheaper than renting.  Renting is money you will never get back, but buying a home is an investment in your future.  In most areas, if you can afford to rent, you can afford to buy! For more information on this topic you can refer to my blog, here it will give you both the pros and cons for both buying and renting, as well as offer you alternative options.  

How Do I Know I'm Ready To Buy A Home? 
The best way to know if you're ready to purchase a home is to look at your current situation.  You don't need to be employed with the same place for 2 years, you just need to have had a steady income in one field for the past 2-3 years.  You will want to run your credit and take a good look and make sure everything that is on the report is correct, if not you will want to have it corrected! You will also want to make sure you have money saved up for a down payment, in some cases you can withdraw from an IRA penalty free for a first time home purchase.  For more information on this topic you can refer to my article, here.

How Much Money Will I Have To Pay Upfront To Buy A Home? 
This is not an easy answer, because there are two factors depending on what kind of loan you take and the amount of the loan is what will decide your down payment.  For an FHA Loan you will need to put down 3.5% where a Conventional Loan you will need to put down atleast 20%.  The average cost of a home in Suffolk County is about $325,000 which would require a FHA down payment of $11,375.  

You will also need to factor in closing costs, but you can also ask for a sellers concession or have the money "gifted" to you from a friend or family member.  This ranges again by the loan amount, and any mortgage broker is required by law to give you a good faith estimate of closing costs, this is why you should always choose a reputable bank Of course, Coldwell Banker Mortgage is more than happy to help and you will always be given all of your loan options.

Once you have decided that you are in a financial position that you would like to go ahead and begin searching for your new home there are a few things you should look into.  You will want to learn the difference between what kind of homes are on the market, who you should have working for you, and what happens once you have found that "perfect home".  Because each of these topics are best explained in detail I will list each topic below with a direct link to blogs to help you get informed ! 

• Why You Should Work With A Buyer Broker
• What Kinds Of Home Are On The Market
• Benefits Of New Construction
• Short Sale VS Foreclosure
• What To Offer For That House 
• What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted 
• What It REALLY Means To Be In A Buyers Market 
• Tips To Finding The Perfect Home

The Truth About What Your Home Is Worth !

Now almost every homeowner that has seen one the "Online Home Values" that are now being offered by Trulia, or Zillow call and express to me that their home is not only worth more than what it is/was listed for but it is even higher than that! 

Let me just say this in the most simplest terms, they are WRONG! Yes I said it, and I am sure in some parts of the country perhaps their pricing is correct, but not here on the South Shore of Long Island.  Experts have done research and their values are actually off by around 20% and in some cases up to 50%! Now most people will than ask how can they do that, it is simple they put a disclaimer on their page and that's it.  

If you really want to know what your home is worth you need to make sure the information that the value it is being based on is accurate, and up to date! On many of these sites the value of your home is based upon the closed sales, under contract sales but they don't often reflect current sales.  Now here are the biggest problem with these sites.   Problem #1 if your neighbor or someone across town from you decides to over price their home that doesn't raise your value obviously, but according to these sites it does.  Problem #2, just because a house has the same number of bedrooms or baths it does not mean they are worth the same. This is where style of home does come into play, a Colonial style home is going to have much more square footage, than a Cape style home even if it does have the same amount of bedrooms.  Problem #3, we have no idea which of these formulas they are using when they calculated the value of YOUR home! Problem #4, they could never receive information as quickly as a Realtor can, computers are a wonderful tool in today's market but that will never replace hard work, and research by an actual person! 

So how do you figure out what the value of your home actually is, well that is simple.  Call a Realtor! 

They should be able to provide you with at least 3 comps for homes that sold within the last 180 days - with similar characteristics to your home (ex-square footage, rooms, bedrooms, baths, taxes).   This will be crucial information, prior sales are what the bank will be looking for.  When you are looking at these comps your should be sure to see how many days this home was on the market as well.  

They will also show your homes that went under contract with all the same characteristics that I previously mentioned.  This will show you about what price bracket you should be in when you price your home to get an offer.  This will be a great way to see how long homes in your area are for sale before they get an accepted offer!I personally believeit it is better to be at the top of a buyers price range, than at the lower end.  

Lastly they will show you homes that are on the market, again all the same characteristics and this is where you have the chance to judge your home from a buyers prospective.  From their prospective you want to make sure that your home shows value for that price range.  I do not mean price it below market value, just simply look from a buyers prospective and if your home is all original, and other homes on the market are updated you should make sure you adjust your price accordingly.  

This is the ONLY information that will give you the real value of your home, so take the time and speak with your Realtor regularly about your neighborhoods current market!

Rent Vs Buying ? Are you ready ?

If your thinking about buying a home rather than renting there are some very obvious reasons that now is the time to buy but lets take a look at 3 of the best reasons you should buy now! 

• Low Interest Rates 
• Homes Priced To Sell 
• Inventory Of Homes To Choose From 

Now of course there are always pros and cons to both renting and buying, so lets take a quick look at those.  

                                                                                          

Renting Pro      Ability to move easily, this is important for those who often travel for work. 

Renting Pro      Renting you are not responsible for many things such as roofs, leaks ect.

Renting Con     Your money rent will never earn you any return.  

Renting Con     Increase in rent according to the market and become more costly than owning.

Buying Pro       Tax deductions on property taxes, interest. 

Buying Pro       Ability to take from your IRA penantly free for down payment.

Buying Pro       Work done to your own home raises its equity 

Buying Con      Upkeep goes into owning a home choose a home that fits your needs 

Their are many experts saying that one year from now everyone will be saying that they should have bought a home in 2012.  I have to say I would have to agree with that statement, buyers that are thinking they may want to try and buy a home should call a mortgage broker and see if they qualify immediately ! Now if your not quite ready to make that call and your just curious whether or not you could qualify lets take a look at some of the things you will need to have in order.  

1. Credit Score - Obviously you need to have decent credit but most banks will work with you if you have a credit score of 625 or higher.  
2. Work History - You need to have been consistently working in a field for 2 years to show consistency in your income.  
3. Debt To Income - This is just as important as your credit score, take a look at this simple calculator here for your debt to income ratio.  
4. Available Funds - Most down payments now are minimal at 3.5% on a FHA Loan which on a $250,000 home is only abut $8500, plus your closing costs.  Taking penantly free from your IRA is a great option also, allowing you to only need to budget for closing costs which on average can be $8,000 - $12,000.  

Lets take a look at some of the statistics for our current market to give you an idea of what kind of money you may want to expect to spend on a home.  

Now you can see that we are staying generally around the $300,000 mark, but for someone looking for the average home can comfortable purchase between $250,000 - $300,000.  

The average whole house rental for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath home here on the island will cost you about $1800 or higher, and normally you will still be responsible for all of the utilities on top of that.  Your costs on a renting a home would be much better spent on a home that you own! 

Other Available Options 

There are plenty of homes out their for first time buyers, and not only is New York now offering grants to help you but many towns and villages are building housing developments specifically for first time buyers.  A great example of this is the Courtland Square Condos, that are new construction condos that were recently built here in Bayshore.  

These condos offer a unique opportunity because the price of the condo is not decided by the builder or the buyer, it is decided buy the buyers income.  If your salary is under a certain amount than in turn the price of the condo will be one particular price.  There are certain rules and regulations that must be followed when you are purchasing one of these such as, it is required you take a class to learn about the responsibility of home ownership and you also must fill out a detailed application form.  To better educate you on this type of application it is available for PDF Download here.  When you purchase one of these condos the state and town are paying almost $100,000 in grants to help you get your first home! 

Another option is Rent To Own, now this is something you need to be very careful with.  You must meet with an attorney before you sign into something like this, but for some that are just looking to either fix a credit issue or save up a bit more for down payment it can be a great option.  There is a difference between Rent With Option To Buy, and Rent To Own: The difference between the 2 is pretty simple one gives you the option to buy, and the other locks you into buying the home within a particular time period.  

If you are thinking about purchasing a home but are still undecided about whether or not now is the right time to buy and would like additional information please feel free to contact me directly! 

What To Expect When Your Looking For A Short Sale !

Many of today's buyers are opting to take advantage of getting a "deal" on a short sale, now I previously wrote a blog explaining the process of buying a short sale.   I want to take a moment to explain a bit further not the process but what you should expect to see, and how you can prepare yourself for looking at these homes.  If you are looking for information on the process please refer to this blog.

So you have decided your going to get a deal, and you are on the lookout for that home you can steal off the market.  Well let me prepare you a little bit for what you may walk into, remember these homes are often time distressed or abandoned.

Before you even start looking at short sales you must remember a few important points.

1. There is still a homeowner involved even if they have abandoned the home, unless they have made other arrangements they first have the right to accept or reject your offer.  
2. You have the right to have a home inspection performed on the house, but that is as far as it will go there will be no repairs made to the home. 
3. Anyone looking into a short sale should also become educated on a what a rehab loan is, some of these homes will not be mortgageable and will require a rehab loan.  
4. "Sold As Is" means just that, many people assume that it just means that no repairs will be made but it also means that any CO issues the home may have not and will not be addressed.  

If that hasn't scared you off from purchasing a short sale, let me give you some reassurance.  Not all short sales are in bad shape and/or have CO issues.  Most of our short sales that are coming onto the market are actually still being lived in by the homeowner so let me prepare you a bit more.

• As I said earlier the homeowner still has the right to negotiate before any offer gets submitted to the bank, the chances of "stealing" one of these homes are slim because the bank will want at least 96% of what the market value is, and the homeowner will want the process to go as quickly and smoothly as possible so submitting a low offer would do nothing but waste everyone time.  

• Not every homeowner will be happy that their home is for sale, and to be quite honest some of them will be flat out rude to you.  Don't take it personal, and do not rush out on their account take your time and look the same as you would if the homeowner was being nice.  Sometimes getting into these homes can be a bit more difficult so you want to make sure you see everything while you are there.  

Those that are well versed in DIY projects, or who have family in construction are the most likely buyers to purchase and mortgage a distressed property.  When you are going out to these homes there are a few important things you should really be prepared for, and this is the most important part of this blog, remember this is specifically for vacant distressed homes.   

• Ladies, this first one is for you and I speak from experience when I am saying this.  DO NOT wear heals/skirts/open shoes when you are going out to look at these homes.  Even in this heat I would recommend wearing jeans or long capris rather than shorts.  Some of these homes have been vandalized and their could be glass, or debris laying around and worst case there can be mold in some of the areas of the house or exposed insulation that can irritate your skin.  

• Bring your flashlights and be prepared to use them, even on the sunniest day these homes can be eerily dark.  Most of the time this is caused by the boarded up windows, and doors but the lack of electricity at night is always an issue.  You will also want to consider bringing some hand sanitizer, some of these houses can be a bit on the dirty size so if you are anything like me you will be very happy to clean up a bit after being inside.  

• View these homes during "normal" hours, this is all about your safety.  You will have to use flashlights to see and your site will be way to limited in the evening hours.  There is no way to know if squatters have been using this home for a warm place to sleep, and viewing these homes in the late evening hours is just not safe.  

• NEVER close the door behind your agent, again this is all about your safety as well as your brokers, you never know what your walking into.  By leaving the front door open you are making it clear to those neighbors and other agents who may be showing that you are in the house, and they will be able to hear you inside god forbid something is to happen.

Now I know that all that may make you think it is not worth looking at short sales at all, but it is rare to see homes in this extreme distress anymore.  It is much more typical that the homes are still being lived in or taken care of by neighbors but I have quite a few buyers who are looking for this kind of project coming to me over the passed few weeks.  The best way to find the short sale that is right for you is to talk open and honestly with your agent, here are a two easy ways we can help you before you even step foot into one of these homes.   

• As brokers we have access to things that you do not, if you would not consider a home that would require a rehab loan we have the ability to check the agent listing to see if the home would require one or not before you go and look at it.  

• Many of these short sales will not have pictures attached to the listing, don't discount them just based on that if you are nervous about seeing these vacant homes because you would only want to do cosmetic work, see if your agent would be willing to preview them for you.   

The best piece of advice I could give you when your buying a short sale is to expect the unexpected ! Short sales are not for everyone.  The good news is that we are not seeing any large amount of short sales coming onto the market at the rate they were in previous years, and we are slowly seeing these homes sold !

If you are looking for additional information regarding the purchase of a short sale property and have additional questions were not covered in this blog please feel free to leave your question as a comment, or email me directly!

What To Look For When Buying A Renovated Home

So I am sure those buyers who are out there looking have noticed the abundance of renovated homes that are currently on the market.  I am finding there are two very extreme opinions about these renovations, either the buyers absolutely refuse to even look at them, or they will look at nothing other than a renovated home. 

I would never tell anyone to not consider a renovated home, because there are some definite advantages to buying a home that has been renovated.  At the same time there are some very specific things you will want to take a look at when it comes to buying one of these homes. 

•  How long did the renovation take? Your buyers broker will be able to tell you when the home sold to the investor, from the day it closed to the day it came back onto the market is what you want to focus on.  If it was flipped within a short period of time (30-45 days) you will want to have a very thorough home inspection.  The reason for this is because in that short of a time period it was more than likely a cosmetic renovation.  
• What was done during the renovation? Certain things are quite obvious, but just because the home has new baseboards it does not mean that the heating was upgraded, you want to check the boiler/hot water heater/oil tank.  It could be that they did not require being replaced but the only way to know for sure is to let a home inspector look at it.  Don't ever assume that just because a light switch was replaced, that the electrical system was upgraded, most investors will upgrade the electric to 200-amp service, which is ideal for a remodeled home.  
• How many homes has the investor renovated? More and more people are choosing to take advantage of all of those short sales by buying them and re-selling them.  Many investors are well known in the Real Estate community, you may not know them but your buyers broker will be able to find that information out for you just by talking to the listing agent.  Do not attempt to find this information out on your own, call your broker! I personally have a investor who has been doing this for 15+ years, and I have investors who have been doing this for 2-3 years but I only work for those who do quality work.  
• What kind of warranty is provided? It is very common that new construction builds that they provide some sort of home warranty, but you always should ask if this exists on a remodeled home.  Some investors will simply give you the warranty paperwork that is provided by the manufacturer of the items the put in the home; others will offer you added warranties about the work that was done by their contractors.  It is not very common but you should still ask the question because it is a definite plus if they do! 

Those 4 questions on the most important questions you will want to know the answers to before you put in an offer on a renovated home.  Not every investor throws together remodels, but these homes are not for everyone.  If you are an avid to it yourself, or even have friends that are contractors many times you can do the same cosmetic work over the course of a season as the investor did.  I would like to think of myself as pretty handy, but I could never come close to what any of my investors do as far as quality of work.  So let's look at a few of the perks of buying a renovated home.  

The obvious perk is you are getting a turn-key home, that you will be the first to live in and will include some 

sort of warranties that you ordinarily would not have.  

 Investors now are smart and in order to move their investments instead of rushing through the renovation they

price the home a few thousand dollars UNDER market value that means your paying less for a better home.  

The reality is the renovated home came about because of an estate/short/foreclosure sale, which means the investor

has done all of the dirty work for you this is a very big perk for those areas that were really hit when the economy

went because the majority of the homes your looking at will be these renovations. 

Here is an example of a renovation, mainly cosmetic but the electrical was upgraded, plumbing as well and an extensive rehab done to the property itself including the retaining wall in front.  

BEFORE 

AFTER 

A renovated home is not for everyone, take the time to talk with your Realtor about your wants/needs as well as your price range.  If your working with a buyers broker they will be able to guide you on what kind of home is best for you.  I always try to reinforce the importance of having a buyers broker working for you but it is a absolute must if you are planning on buying one of these homes.  Only a buyer broker will be able to do the kind of research this home will require, the listing agents are legally obligated to get the best possible deal for the investor, not for the buyer.  If you are planning on looking specifically at renovated homes I would suggest going one step farther and working with an agent who is knowledgeable on these kinds of homes, not only selling them but listing them and working with investors they will know right away what questions to ask, and what answers you want to hear !! 

Listing Your Home, What You Should Know !

This week I am going to write about something I don't talk about very often which is sellers who are new to the process of selling their home.  Now some of you might be thinking this doesn't apply to you but it just might so I have compiled a quick list of sellers that is a sign you should take the time to read this blog:

• You purchased your first home from a For Sale By Owner 
• You have not sold a home in the last 5 + years 
• You inherited a property or are an Executor of an estate 

One of the most important steps to selling your home is the paperwork, not only signing it but reading it and understanding it! I can't tell you how many homeowners who have not sold a home recently are very surprised by the amount of paperwork that now goes along with listing your home. 

NYS Agency Disclosure 

New York State requires that anyone who is buying/selling a home fills out the agency disclosure paper, it clearly defines who it is that the Realtor is working for.  Obviously you will sign that the agent will be working for you, but NYS has changed with the times and they now address Dual Agency before it exists.  

Dual Agency is when your agent works for both you as the seller, but also works for the buyer.  This can sometimes cause a conflict of interest, if the deal requires negotiating it can blur the lines of who your Realtor must disclose what to.  It is my recommendation that when it comes time for you to sign this piece of paper that you require if Dual Agency exists that it is Dual Agency with a designated sales person.  What this means is if a buyer walks into your home and wants to negotiate a deal that your Realtor will have an agent from their office work for this buyer rather than representing both sides of the deal.  

Multiple Listing Service Contract

This is a very important contract for you to read most Realtors will tell you it is standard and direct you straight to the bottom to sign.  They are correct when they tell you it is a standard form, but you should be reading it because this is the detailed description that will be on not only on MLS but all of the additional websites that your home will be listed on.   

You want to check certain things in particular: 

1. Taxes are correct (Ex: If your taxes are not correct you may end up with a buyer who is unable to purchase because they were mis-informed, remember pre-approvals do include the yearly taxes)
2. Make sure the number and descriptions of rooms are correct (Ex: If your kitchen is an eat in kitchen, you must make sure it is accurately inputted. These are things buyers will be placing in their search criteria and you wouldn't want a oversight to cause potential buyers to not see your home.  
3. Be sure your floor plan is accurately described (Ex: If you have an entry hall, or a laundry room you want buyers to know that because these might be important to them)
4. Utilities are described completely (Ex: Some people will have a preference when it comes to these things, again you never want to misrepresent your home, even a simple mistake can turn off a buyer) 
5. This last one may upset some Realtors, but the 2nd page of your MLS Listing agreement is where it shows what the commission will be, and where it will be going.  Remember there are 2 sides to every deal if your agent has told you that they will be taking a 6% listing because they split it equally with the buyers broker make sure that it is written that way in your contract.  

Exclusive Listing 

This is something that you may or may not see, if you are listing your home on Multiple Listing Service you should not be signing this paper unless there is a beginning and an end date filled out.  I will sometimes hold a listing as an exclusive until I have the pictures uploaded, & the virtual tour online but when I do I always write that the end date is at the homeowners request.  You might wonder why I do this, and it is just the way I run my business I want to make sure that my listing is up to not only my standard but to my sellers as well.  Once the homeowner sees the listing and approves it we than release the listing onto MLS for it's big debut !! 

Property Condition Disclosure 

The property condition disclosure is pretty much self-explanatory, it is a semi-large packet that details the history of the property.   Most Realtors, and your Real Estate Attorney will recommend that you do not fill this out. Instead you at closing you provide the buyer with the  $500 opt out credit.  The reason we recommend you do this is to simply protect yourself from future liability, even the most knowledgeable homeowner can be unaware of hidden issues in their home.  

Lead Based Paint 

If your home was built prior to 1978 than you are required to fill this out, and your Realtor is required to give the buyers a informative booklet about Lead Based Paint.  This is a common form that you, the buyers, and all Realtors involved will need to sign and is required.  If you are not sure what year your home was built it is always better to fill one out to be on the safe side.  

Seller Services Guarantee 

Unfortunately not all companies offer this, but if you are going to list your home I would recommend not signing with a company that does not provide you with one.  This is your guarantee that the Realtor will provide you with all the services he/she agreed to do in order to get your home sold.  It also gives you the ability to walk away from the contract with them if they are not providing all the services, I can't tell you how many unhappy expired clients I come across because the Realtor did not do what they had assured the client they would do, always remember that you have your guarantee and if your Realtor isn't doing the job perhaps they need to be reminded of that guarantee.  

Now, I have to take a moment to remind you that in order for you to be able to hold your Realtor accountable for the work that they are supposed to be doing, you must also do your part.  Mis-communication about the marketing plan for your home, can often cause a strained business relationship between Realtor and homeowner so you want to go over the details prior to signing anything.   

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage does have some additional paperwork that your average Brokerage does not have.  The reason is very simple, we are not your average company we offer additional services to our sellers that not only get their home sold but to make it a easy and enjoyable experience.

Affiliated Business Agreement

If you are one of my frequent readers than you have heard me talk about all of the additional services we are affiliated with.  For today I will not be going into the description of them, but I will link the appropriate information so you can look at the ones you may not be aware of.  Our affiliated business agreement, is to let you know the different companies and services we offer but we as agents do not profit from our buyers or sellers using them.  The reason each of these are so important to our company as a whole is the difference it makes for our clients.  

Coldwell Banker Mortgage Company

Coldwell Banker Home Warranty

Coldwell Banker Title Services & Insurance

Coldwell Banker Concierge Services

You will also receive a copy of your Comparative Market Analysis, be sure you keep this in your file for future reference.  Also make sure you keep full copies of everything that you signed, as well as additional paperwork you may sign during the time your home is listed.  Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, does have a system set up on a secured server that will store copies of all the paperwork you will accumulate during the transaction.  This is a great tool for someone who is on the road for work,  lives out of state, or just prefers keeping documents stored online rather than filed away.  


I hope everyone finds this blog helpful, if you have any additional questions please always feel free to comment and I will respond to your question as quickly as possible ! 

Relocation 101

I am sure all my readers are thinking, why are you writing a blog on Mothers Day ? So let me first just remind everyone of one thing, real estate agents do NOT get the conventional days off, and this is another reason I push for all buyers to use a Buyers Broker I just now finished working on finding homes for my buyers at midnight on mothers day, why ? Because they are trusting me to find them their perfect home, in a certain amount of time.  When it comes to re-location whether you are relocating from one county to another, or another state this is the most important time for you to have a buyers broker working for you!

When you have a buyers broker there are a few "perks" that you will experience that in the normal buying experience would not be as important to you as when you are doing a relocation.  Here are just a few: 

• Buyers have someone to actually go and take a first look at the home, ordinarily we would simply send you the listing when it comes to relocation we actually go and look at it in person and see if the size of the rooms, and layout will work for our client.
• When you are re-locating you don't always know what each area offers your agent will be responsible for pulling school information, village/town amenities, or things as simple as distance from employment. 

When it comes to relocating there are some additional steps that become much more important as well, and communication is key ! When I say communication I don't just mean between one partner to another, it becomes very important that anyone who is going to be living in the house with you voices their opinion.  Let me give you an example, if you have a child that is going into high school and wants to be involved in sports you should make that clear - we won't be able to guarantee finding you a home in a town that has won the championship but we can make sure that the schools have a good sports program ! 

Another reason that communication is key is because your agent will be previewing these homes for you, and if we go and find out that it does not meet that must have criteria list you will never see it and potentially miss out.  If you tell me that you absolutely must have 3 bedrooms and than weeks later your tell me you only really needed 2, there is a chance that we missed out on some great homes.  Your "must have" list and your "you would like to have" list must be 110% realistic.  If you only need 2 bedrooms, but you would like to have a extra room for a home office you will need to say exactly that so we can understand your needs completely.  Communication is key in any sale but it is extremely important during relocation and I can not stress that enough.  Calling random listing agents when you are re-locating is not the way to find your new home !! 

You will also have a new obstacle that most buyers do not have, and that involves some of the what would normally be smaller aspects of buying a home, but when you are relocating they become a much much more important, and that is your utilities ! Your phone, cable, electric, or oil company - if you are not from the area chances are you will need a go to person to help you along.  Let me give you an example in today's technologically driven world what do you think would happen if you moved into your new home flipped on the lights, sat down to open your email and found that your connection wasn't keeping up with the data it needed to download? This is where a broker can really come in quite handy, because we can give you honest opinions that you otherwise may not have.  Not everyone who is moving to a different state will have family or friends to depend on to give them sound advice on such small but important things.  

Coldwell Banker Residential has taken it one step further with our Concierge Service, it is a network of reliable and experienced professionals that can help you with even the smallest details of your new home.  When you buy that new home you may want to have it freshly painted or cleaned before you move in.  Your real estate agent may not have anyone to recommend to you but you would of course want to make sure that the person you hired is going to come thru for you, with our referral network you will be guaranteed that the job will be done right! Our experts can not buy their way into our Concierge Service, it is strictly based on the buyers/sellers satisfacction !

Another important aspect to relocating is timing, you should begin your search within a realistic time frame.  There are so many important aspects to finding you that "perfect home" that timing really should be at the top of the list.  If you have children who need to begin a new school, or a date to begin employment you must share this with your agent immediately.  Sometimes you may not have time on your side, and that is something you must keep in mind.  Many of the "great deals" are short sales, and unfortunately no agent can guarantee a speedy closing when we have no control over the other parties involved.  Even if your broker is the listing agent of a short sale it is impossible to say with 110% confidence that we can guarantee a particular closing date, things happen in the course of a short sale that is not as easy cleared up as it would be with a normal sale.  

If your working and have a time crunch where you need to make a move within 3-4 months than you may want to have your agent check during the preview process when the home would be available to close.  If the current homeowners have not even begun the search for their new home, chances are that home is too much of a risk for you to have to take.  The upside to the current market is that there are just as many renovations/investment homes on the market as there are homeowners trying to sell, so even those who are looking to buy and close quickly have quite a selection to choose from.

I personally enjoy my job, so working with those that are re-locating is very rewarding for me and I do not mind the work that it requires.  When choosing your buyers broker for the relocation you should of course not only check out the agent, but the company they work for as well Coldwell Banker Residential is one of the exclusive companies that the Cactus Relocation uses for their buyers, Cactus Relocation is the #1 company used for relocation services !!

Of course if you have any questions about relocation, or anything you would like to add onto my blog please comment or email me directly !!

Tips For Sellers During The Home Inspection Process

I have written a blog previously for buyers about home inspections, but over the passed few months I have found that the sellers are the ones needing more guidance when it comes to their homes inspection.  So this blog is going to be specifically only for those potential sellers out there !!

First lets talk about what you should do to help the process along !

Tips For Sellers Preparing For A Home Inspection 

• Move any smaller furniture that is blocking areas that the home inspector will need to get to (ex: outlets, electrical panels) 
• Clean out utility areas (ex: remove clothes from the washer/dryer) 
• Make sure all your bulbs are working, sounds silly but important (ex: attic, garage)
• Remove your pets to allow the inspectors to work thru the house without any distractions or potential issue
• THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP: LEAVE and let your real estate agent stay ! 

Tips For Sellers During The Home Inspection

• If you decide to stay during the home inspection try your best not to try and "explain" things in the house, something you may think is a big deal might not be and visa versa
• Do not try and cover up anything, the home inspectors are thorough and they will find whatever you may have tried to hide and than they will search more to make sure they didn't miss anything
• Do not negotiate on anything during the home inspection, again something that may be a red flag for you may not be for your buyers
• Keep your distance, do not hover over the home inspector stay available IF he has a question otherwise he is a professional allow him to do his job 
• Don't expect to have the report immediately the first person to get a copy of your homes inspection will be the potential buyer who than can share it with you 

Once the home inspection has occurred is where things may get tricky for a homeowner, this is your second round of negotiations which means the price of what your home sells for just might be changing again! 

The agreed upon price of your home before a home inspection 90% of the time is not the actual final price.  

If there are safety, structural, electric, plumbing issues in your home that is uncovered you will usually be given the option to either 

A: Fix It              or B:                  Give the buyers a credit so they can have it fixed once they take ownership.  

Common Items Needing Negotiations

• Underground Oil Tanks - These will require soil testing, filling or removing old tank, installation of new tank
• Asbestos - Not all asbestos is a hazard but a certified professional is the only one who can safely make that determination
• Wiring - Broken electric outlets, outdated service
• Safety Concerns - Raised pavement on walkways, decking
• Roofs - Older or damaged roofs 

Where Do The Home Inspectors Inspect ? 

There of course are times where if a house is priced well below market value that it will be referred to as "Sold As Is" this is what happens commonly frequently with Short Sales & Foreclosures which means the buyer should have the inspection to make sure they are not getting in over their heads, but should not expect any changes to be made to the contracts or the home.

If you are a homeowner there are some very important things you should remember BEFORE you begin negotiating those items that require repair or credits !

• If there is a significant issue you should try your best to negotiate thru it, because if one home inspector finds it chances are this will be an issue with any buyer 
• There are more homes than buyers, if you have a buyer do your best to keep your deal afloat by being fair and realistic 
• Just because something does not bother you, it does not mean that the buyer should feel the same as you do about an issue, just like you do not want to give your house away, a buyer does not want to over-pay for a home that requires work 
• If you can fix it cheaper than their estimate either A: Suggest getting more estimates B: Offer to fix it
• Trust your Realtor, they should have attended the home inspection, reviewed it and be able to help advise you on what is important

The first thing you should do before you start to negotiate is meet with your Realtor, discuss what showings your home has had since other brokers have become aware of your accepted offer - if you have not had anyone show the home because of that it means that their are no aggressive buyers looking to buy your home.  You should also review the inspection report with your Realtor, we are by no means professionals in the home inspection process, but we do know what we would look at if we were working as a buyers broker and what items could possibly be an issue.  

Most importantly always remember that you may not like to hear what we are telling you, but our jobs are not to tell you what you want to hear, it is to make sure you are informed and help you make good decisions during the process of selling your home !! 

Steps To Getting An Accepted Offer Blog 1 Of 2

The BIG question after you find that perfect home is "What Do You Offer For The House" well that all depends on what house it is, and how that home is priced.  I have written another blog in depth about deciding what to offer, but I want to take the time to review something that I did not mention and that is the different kind of homes that are currently on the market, and what process it takes for you to get an accepted offer.  


In today's market the circumstance of why a homeowner is selling is usually pretty clear by how the listing is written up, and with so many homes on the market you really do have plenty to pick from.  The moment you find YOUR perfect home, is when you have to decide what to offer for the house but in today's market what you offer on a home will depend on what kind of sale it is! Are you dealing with a homeowner directly, will you need to have their bank involved, or is their numerous family members who will need to accept your offer.  What kind of sale the home is will decide on how aggressive your offer should actually be.

Short Sales 
With today's market filled with short sales I still find it odd than many buyers are unaware of what a short sale actually is.  So first let me explain,  a short sale is when a homeowner is under water in their home, and the bank is giving them the chance to get out from underneath it by allowing them to sell the home for less than what it owed to them.  Many people seem to think that because a home listed as a short sale it means the homeowners have stopped paying their mortgage but that is not usually the case.  Homeowners who continue to pay their mortgage can short sale their home, and could qualify for a new mortgage within a year of the process being complete!

Now when your putting in an offer on a short sale it is important to remember it will actually need to be accepted twice.  The homeowner is up first, they can  reject/accept/counter your offer but they are not able to make the FINAL decision.   Once your offer is accepted by the homeowner, it will than be submitted to the bank who will either accept/reject your offer, and that is the final decision.  Notice I didn't say counter, it was not by mistake the banks do not counter-offer.

Many people assume that because a home is listed as a short sale they will be able to "steal" the house, that happening is actually the exception not the rule.  All banks will want to get fair market value for the home,  so if the home is in move-in condition and has passed the home inspection you will want to make sure your offer is fair.  The bank may respond quickly, or it may take a few weeks for them to get back to you.  Before you put an offer in on a Short Sale your buyer broker will go thru the process of finding out if it had been pre-approved, if there are any other offers waiting for bank approval, and how many banks are involved.

My advice to those who have chosen that they want a short sale is to make sure that you submit your highest and best offer to the bank. You will spend time waiting to hear back from them, but it will save the time of resubmitting your offer if they deny your low-end offer.


Foreclosure
Now if you are looking at homes that have been foreclosed on they are usually vacated already, and unfortunately are not always in the best condition.  These are the homes where you can steal the house from the bank, but many times you will find the vandals have already stolen some important pieces of the home from the bank already!  

Do not despair there are ways of buying a foreclosure, and getting a loan to rehab the home all at once.  This is called 203K Rehab loan, it allows you to obtain a mortgage on a home that needs substantial work done before you are able to move in.  You could also use this loan, on a short sale but it is commonly used with foreclosures.

Here again, the bank will either accept/reject your offer.  You do have the ability to give them a time frame in which your offer is valid, but always be realistic many banks will take 2-3 weeks to get back to the listing agent, who will than inform your broker.

Estate Sales 
Estate sales are a wonderful way to get your new home for a great value.  Estate sales occur when either the family member has passed away, or is no longer able to take care of themselves or home.  Usually a family member will have been named the Executor/Executrix,  and will be making all the final decisions.

The upside of this is you are not dealing with the bank, and you will have a response or counter offer in a timely manner.  Most of these homes were maintained to the best of the homeowners ability.  I have seen each end of that spectrum some homes that were completely updated to homes that made you think you had taken a trip back to the 70's.

The hardest part of an estate sale is being reasonable for you the buyer, and for the seller.  Although the sellers may not have a mortgage on the home,  many times the emotional attachment to the house is a driving force during negotiations.  I have been on both sides of it, selling my own family members home I was utterly shocked when they began discussing what they would want credited off the price, because of the extensive remodel they would need to do to our original 1950's farmhouse.   On the other hand I have come across other estate sales where because of the extensive remodel I have advised my own clients to offer less for a home.

When it comes to an estate sale you should move quickly, and use your Realtors knowledge of the market to your advantage.  You will get a much quicker response with an estate sale so you have the ability to start at the lower end of what the home is worth and go up from there.  If the home is already priced at the lower end you should move quickly, because even as a buyer you have your own competition - they are called investors and they love short sales, foreclosures, and estate sales.

Investment Sale 
Your probably wondering what kind of a sale an investment sale is and not many Realtors take the time to write about them.  I happen to work very closely with my investors, and they have always been gracious enough to let me stay involved from their initial purchase thru renovations, and than allow me to re-list the finished product.  The first rule of a good investor is too not have to hold the house for very long once the work is complete, which means they are not getting above market value.

In real estate there are many myths, the most common is that investors were able to purchase the home for pennies on the dollar, unfortunately that is not always the case.  Your broker will be able to pull the record of what they bought it for since it is public record, and than you must figure in the time and labor they spent doing the renovations just because they bought the house for $150,000 and now have it listed at $250,000 does NOT mean they are making $100,000 profit.  

There are some great reasons to purchase a home from an investor, one of which being that they have no emotional attachment to the home it is all a matter of business and numbers.  Secondly, they got the house while it was a short sale/foreclosure which means you do not need to haggle with the bank or wait for a homeowner to move out in order to close sometimes saving yourself that time really is priceless.  Of course, the most common reason to buy this type of home is the fact that it is completely updated from top to bottom.  Most investors will put in hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, tile backslashes, granite countertops in the kitchen & the bath, up-to-date cabinetry, and of course take care of any electrical & plumbing upgrades that were necessary.  If you are looking for a updated home but do not want to pay for the price tag that comes along with new construction, a investment sale is the way to go.

When placing an offer on this kind of home you want your Realtor to go the extra mile BEFORE you put in an offer.  You should know what they originally purchased the home for, and if they providing any sort of warranty on the work they did to the home.  In this kind of sale again you have the ability to get a quick response so starting at the lower price point where you are comfortable is expected, but investors will be aggressive when countering so be prepared to get their final and best offer pretty quickly.

There is another aspect when it comes to deciding what you will offer for any home,  based on which of the 3 categories its price falls into for that neighborhood: Overpriced, Fairly Priced, Action Priced.  I will be taking the time to cover this in my next blog! 


When you are placing an offer on any home you want to be sure that you educated on the market value of that particular home and decide what you are comfortable paying for the home.  This blog was to explain the process of who will need to accept your offer, and typically what kind of "Offering Style" will help you get an accepted offer quickly ! 

Top 5 Tips For First Time Home-Buyers

I decided to spend a moment and focus on buyers for a moment.  I have a lot of information for my sellers, but when it comes to working with buyers I would have to say first-time home buyers are my favorite.  It isn't for everyone and many agents like it when they have experienced buyers, normally the deals will go along smoother and the process of finding their new home is easier.  Perhaps I like the "challenge" but it is a different kind of reward when you hand someone the keys to their very FIRST new home ! 

Get your finances in order

Before you start working with a buyer broker, getting a mortgage pre-approval is a must.  I have seen too many homebuyers starting looking before they find out what they can afford.  The result is disappointment that you may have looked at some wonderful homes that turns out does not fit into your budget.   Most licensed brokers will have reliable, and attentive mortgage brokers they work with that they will be able to refer you to. 

Know the language

Know the terminology of real estate, you want to understand what brokers are talking about.  Short sales vs Foreclosure, there is a very big difference.  You want to be sure even when you are looking without an agent you have a good understanding of what everything is.  You need to understand the difference between Listing Agents, Buyers Brokers, and disclosure.  Listing agents obviously list the house, and work for the sellers.  Every first time home buyer should work with a Buyer Broker, they will provide you with information about the homes in the neighborhood your looking for, make sure everything the seller is representing is true !

Find a well-trusted real estate agent

This is the most important part for a first time home-buyer, you are going to be depending on this person to help you make a life changing purchase.  You need someone who is okay with having to “hold your hand” so to speak during the process, not because you need it but it is a resource that is available to you.  I once stayed in a closing with my first time buyers for 5 hours, it was a short sale and the bank was having its own issue with paperwork which held us up.  Before leaving the attorney, pulled me aside to thank me for staying and explaining what was going on to his clients.                   

Decide what you “must have” and what you would “like to have”

I had a home buyer once tell me that she would never purchase a ranch they would never give her the space she needed.  For the most part she was right, almost every single home that was a ranch would not meet what she needed to have.  Before we began looking I asked her to make me a list of her “must have”,  and “like to have list”.  Must haves are the number of bedrooms, a school district, or a price range.  These are things that if they did not have them it would be impossible to move to that home.  Fireplaces, pools, central air, these are all things that you would like to have but, you could live without.  These lists are different for everyone, in this clients case the home she purchased ended up being a ranch.  If we had limited the search she would have missed out on her “perfect home”. 

Should I Spend The Money To Have A Home Inspection?                                                                                                                                  

Absolutely. The $200 to $500 that a professional home inspection costs could be the best money you ever spend on your house. Not only does the home inspection seek out any defects (and gives you some peace of mind), the home inspector will often give you tips on maintaining and repairing your house. See the section on Home Inspections for tips on what to look for and how to choose a home inspector.